


We Meet (Again)

by Artistic_Arteries



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone (comic)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Angst, Character Study, Families of Choice, Gen, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, One Shot, POV The Director | Lucretia, Team as Family, The Director | Lucretia Angst, The Director | Lucretia-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27077362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artistic_Arteries/pseuds/Artistic_Arteries
Summary: "I see.” Lucretia exhales. She looks down at her desk, considering all the reclaimers she had at her disposal. “The gauntlet is out in the open now, correct? We’ll have to send out another team as soon as possible.""Actually no, we won’t, Madame Director.” Killian says, taking a large breath to steady herself, “While I was fighting with Brian, adventurers came to my aid. I'm not sure how, but one of them was able to pick up the gauntlet without going mad with power. I thought it best to bring them here with the gauntlet.”-Lucretia sees part of her family again and struggles with not giving anything away
Relationships: The Director | Lucretia & Everyone, The Director | Lucretia & IPRE Crew | Starblaster Crew
Kudos: 16





	We Meet (Again)

Lucretia is sitting at her desk when she hears a knock at the door, her regulator Killian comes in, back safely from her mission. 

“Ah Killian,” she says, smiling regally, “I assume your mission was a success?”

“Actually, Madame Director, Brian went haywire. He tried to take the gauntlet for himself.” Killian replies, looking serious. “The whole town was destroyed.”

Lucretia feels her heart sink, countless lives have been lost once again by the things that they unleashed on this world. 

“I see.” Lucretia exhales. She looks down at her desk, considering all the reclaimers she had at her disposal. “The gauntlet is out in the open now, correct? We’ll have to send out another team as soon as possible.”

“Actually no, we won’t, Madame Director.” Killian says, taking a large breath to steady herself, “While I was fighting with Brian, adventurers came to my aid. I'm not sure how, but one of them was able to pick up the gauntlet without going mad with power. I thought it best to bring them here with the gauntlet.”

Lucretia is surprised, but grateful. Three adventurers who went against the thrall of the gauntlet? Brian was an asset, losing him would have been devastating to their numbers. But with three new adventurers, one who is able to withstand holding the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet without physically burning alive or getting enthralled- a feat few others under her command have accomplished- now here, on her moon base? She thinks the Light for the luck. 

“I understand. Bring them to the inoculation room.” She says, standing from her desk. Killian nods once and leaves. Lucretia makes her way to the inoculation room, the cavernous dwelling place of Fisher, his large tank filling up almost an entire wall. She places a hand on Fisher’s tank gently, looking up at the adult void fish. 

“Davenport,” she says to her old captain, whom is standing silently at the door. “get three vials ready for me, if you will.”

“Davenport!” he chirps mindlessly, going to a cabinet and pulling out three vials and a silver dish. He goes to the side of Fisher’s tank, using a small nozzle to fill the vials. 

Lucretia watches him sadly, taking a deep breath and releasing it to control her emotions. It's hard seeing him this way; her old captain, reduced to a mindless servant. It is for the best, she knows. Only for a little bit longer. With these new reclaimers, they could be done in two years time, then she could bring her family back together again. 

The door opens behind her, she fists her Bulwark Staff, taking a moment to compose herself.

“What is that sound?” a deep voice behind her asks.

“It's like a cat trying to yodel.” Another voice, more ragged than the first answers. 

She chuckles to herself, tearing her eyes away from the void fish. “I've never heard it describes like that, but you’re-“

She turns around.

Three sets of very familiar eyes stare up at her. She stops, her brain short-circuiting. 

Oh.

“Not- entirely- wrong..” she manages to finish, her mouth working without her like a rusty autopilot. 

Oh;  
They’re here.

“Ma'am? Are you okay?” Magnus-the-chief-of-security-her-brother-creator-of-the-Temporal-Chalice asks, calling her ma’am like she's a stranger. 

She fakes a smile. “..Yes! Of course!” she says touching her face like she forgot something and is now back on track. “Davenport!!” She calls. Davenport, ever helpful even in this state, runs up with the silver dish carrying three vials of ichor. 

The three take them hesitantly, each some mix of suspicious or repulsed by the black goop. 

“What do you expect us to do with this file looking shit?” Merle-the-healer-her-weird-uncle-the-creator-of-the-Gaia-Sash asks incredulously.

Both of them, Merle and Magnus, look older than she’s ever seen them before. Seeing as she’s known them for a hundred leaping years, she guesses it’s only fair she hasn’t seen them age much. Still, they’re just a bit older now. They have more winkles and grey hairs, a few scars in places she knew were unblemished before. It really had been twelve years, hadn’t it. Lucretia can’t speak of aging, of course, since she’s done more aging these past few years than anyone. Her hair is totally white, wrinkles mark her face, her joints are stiffening on her. 

“I expect you to drink it.” she answers Merle, her hand on her hip. 

“Are you trying to kill us??” Merle cries.

“No.” she smiles, trying not to laugh. He's just the same, she realizes, underneath the age and the wrinkles and the unfamiliar clothes, Merle Highchurch is exactly how she remembers him, even when he doesn't remember her. “believe it or not, I'm trying to hire you” 

She turns back to Fisher’s tank and continues, “let me put it to you like this, Mr Highchurch. On behalf of the bureau of balance I want you to drink that vile looking shit if you want to do something amazing and righteous and good; If you want to make a contribution to an effort to save every living thing on the planet below us;” she turns back to them and smiles genuinely playfully “and if you're sick and tired of hearing void fish static.” 

Magnus, true to form, immediately chugs the entire vial. 

He stares, wide-eyed, directly at Fisher.

“What the hell..” Taako sighs before he and Merle do the same. Taako was quieter, now. He spoke less often, what he had just said being the first thing she heard out of his mouth through this entire conversation. She wonders if it’s the absence of Lup that caused this. He had been quiet then, too, in the days proceeding Lup's disappearance. While all of them had aged, he stayed physically the same, being an Elf. It seems, however, that he is the most different where it most counts. 

All three of them drop their vials and Lucretia thinks they should really stop using glass vials since this keeps happening. 

“What?” Taako asks no-one, pulling his hair. She sees he hasn’t stopped doing that. Although it was a genuine stress response, he would also do it when he was completely exasperated with someone. While she didn't see it directed at her very many times, she saw it directed at Barry, Magnus, and Merle plenty. She thinks she might have kept track one year, of how many times each of them had caused him to pull his hair, but at some point the others figured out what she was doing and started intentionally annoying Taako by doing increasingly ridiculous things. People began asking her who was “in first place”, at which point she wanted to quit, but it was also interesting to watch what lengths people would go for it. Once he figured out what everyone was doing, he started wrapping his hair up, leaving not even a strand he could tug on. 

(Lup had won, bringing out heavy firepower by telling stories or simply referenckng them)

“The fuck?!” Merle exclaims accusingly at her. 

“Was that?!” Magnus starts, looking absolutely disgusted by what he just drank. He could probably guess where it came from, so he has all right to be disgusted.

“So boys” she says with a grin, trying not to laugh, “welcome to the bureau of balance.”

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing for the adventure zone because my friend got me the box set for my birthday yesterday and I had feelings about the last part of the comic and felt I had to make a one shot. 
> 
> If the lines are different from the original podcast, that's cause I was using comic's version.


End file.
